Application Notes
TL;DR — Notes live on each candidate's application detail page. Use them to log a call, an email, a meeting, or a free-form note your team needs to know. Notes are internal — candidates never see them — and they appear newest-first on the application's timeline.
Before you start
- Requires: Campaign Manager (assigned to the campaign) or Admin role. Members and candidates do not see notes.
- A note is always tied to one entity: an application, a campaign, or a contact. This page covers the most common case — application notes.
Open the notes timeline
- From the Applications page, open the candidate's application.
- Scroll to the Notes section on the application detail page.
- The section header shows a paper icon and the title Notes, followed by the create form and then the timeline.
If the application has no notes yet, the timeline shows "No notes yet. Add a note to track important information." The empty state does not block anything.
Create a note
The create form sits at the top of the section:
- Click the textarea labelled "Add a note about this candidate...". The form expands to show a note type toggle and the action buttons.
- Pick a note type (default: Note — see below).
- Type your content. Markdown formatting is preserved as plain text — keep it simple.
- Click Add Note. The note is saved, the toast confirms "Note added", the form collapses, and your note appears at the top of the timeline.
To cancel without saving, click Cancel — the form collapses and your draft is discarded.
Note types
The toggle row offers four types. The icon on each note in the timeline reflects the type:
| Type | Icon | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Note | Paper | General observations, decisions, internal context |
| Call | Phone | A summary of a phone conversation with the candidate or a reference |
| Envelope | A record of an email exchange that happened outside Brightstep | |
| Meeting | People | A summary of a meeting (e.g. with the admissions committee) |
The type doesn't change permissions or routing — it's purely organizational, to help your team scan the timeline.
Edit or delete a note
Hover any note you authored to reveal the action menu (three-dot icon) on its top-right:
- Edit — opens a dialog with the original content. Make changes and click Save.
- Delete — asks to confirm and then removes the note permanently. Deletes can't be undone.
You can only edit or delete your own notes. Notes by other team members are read-only to you. Admins can edit or delete any note.
Who can see notes
- Notes are internal — candidates never see them, regardless of type.
- Any user with manager-or-above access to the application's campaign can read all notes on it.
- Members (interviewer-only role) cannot see notes unless they're also a manager on the campaign.
If you need to communicate with the candidate, use the Chats inbox or send a templated message — see Send Messages.
When to use notes
A few patterns we see work well:
- Decision log — every time you change an application's status, drop a note explaining why. Future-you (and your team) will thank you when reviewing later.
- Call summaries — log every phone call within a few minutes of hanging up; include who said what and any commitments made.
- External email log — if a candidate emails outside Brightstep, paste a summary so the full picture is on the timeline.
- Internal flags — "Wait for transcript before deciding" or "Manager needs to review before approval" — short, actionable.
Avoid using notes as a place for confidential candidate-only information that doesn't belong on file (compliance varies by institution).
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Add Note button is greyed out | The textarea is empty | Type at least one character |
| Note didn't appear after saving | Fetch hasn't refreshed | Refresh the page; the note will appear if save succeeded |
| Can't edit a colleague's note | Edit/delete is restricted to the note's author (or any Admin) | Ask the author to update it, or escalate to an Admin |
| Candidate mentions seeing one of my notes | Notes are internal only — they should never see them | Check whether what they saw was actually a chat message or a revision feedback comment, both of which are visible to candidates |
| Notes section is missing on an application | Either you don't have manager access to the campaign, or you're signed in as a Member | Ask an Admin to assign you as a manager on the relevant campaigns |